Disney’s Peter Pan and Wendy Finds Its Two Leads
Courtesy of movieweb.com:
Peter Pan and Wendy, Disney’s upcoming live-action reboot of the classic Peter Pan story, has found its lead stars. It’s now being reported that the coveted role of Peter Pan will be played by child actor Alexander Molony, who previously appeared on the television shows The Reluctant Landlord and Claude.
Meanwhile, Wendy will be played by newcomer Ever Anderson, who previously played the Red Queen in the horror movie sequel Resident Evil: The Final Chapter; she is also set to appear as the younger version of Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow. No other cast members attached to the project have yet been officially revealed.
David Lowery, who previously helmed Disney’s remake of the live-action/animated classic Pete’s Dragon, is on board to direct Peter Pan and Wendy with Jim Whitaker producing. Lowery also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Toby Halbrooks, who previously worked with Lowery to co-write Pete’s Dragon as well. Though the movie didn’t reach the heights of Aladdin and some other live-action Disney remakes, it found modest success at the box office and was met with mostly positive reviews. Perhaps the results of the project means Disney sees potential in continuing to work with Lowery and Halbrooks on similar movies.
Although many different versions of the classic Peter Pan story have been told over the years, the animated Disney movie from 1953 remains among the most popular. It tells the story of a magical boy with a fairy friend who teaches a group of children how to fly, taking them back to his home in a place called Never Land. There, Peter Pan and the children must avoid a ship of pirates commanded by their nefarious leader, Captain Hook. Multiple live-action adaptations of Peter Pan have been developed in the years since, including the Robin Williams movie Hook in 1991 and the 2003 version of Peter Pan which starred Jeremy Sumpter in the titular role.
This project is also one of many live-action Disney movie remakes to have gotten the green light in recent years. We’ve seen many other classics already getting the live-action or “photo-realistic animation” treatment, from Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast to The Lion King and Aladdin. An updated version of Mulan is also just around the corner with an official premiere date set for March 27, 2020. Other planned Disney remakes are also in the works as well, such as a reported new take on the classic movie Bambi.
It had originally been speculated that Peter Pan and Wendy would wind up on Disney+, similar to the Lady and the Tramp remake that premiered on the streaming service last year. According to Variety, sources close to the production are now suggesting that the movie will see a theatrical release. Of course, with no official announcements made one way or the other, that’s subject to change as the project goes into production. Whether it’s on the big or small screen, we’ll be seeing new versions of Peter Pan and Wendy soon enough. This news comes to us from Variety.
